By Gavin King
Cairns Post
June 2, 2011
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/06/03/167491_local-news.html
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| Lawsuit: A former student and altar boy at St Joseph's School and Church at Atherton (pictured) has accused Father Joseph Sultana of abuse. |
A former Far Northern priest at the centre of a lawsuit filed by a former Atherton altar boy alleging he suffered years of abuse has refused to return to Australia to face his accuser.
Father Joseph Sultana relocated from the Cairns diocese to Malta in the late 1990s after allegations surfaced of misconduct that the Catholic Church deemed "inappropriate" for a priest.
A decade after Father Sultana left the Far North, a Cairns man lodged a lawsuit against the Catholic Church in the Supreme Court, claiming he was regularly abused by Father Sultana while he was a student and altar boy at St Joseph’s School and Church at Atherton between March 1979 and November 1982.
In a joint investigation with a Maltese news service, The Cairns Post tracked down Father Sultana to his current residence in the Gozo diocese of Malta.
At the time the court case was lodged in October last year, The Cairns Post was told by local church representatives that they did not know if Father Sultana was still alive.
In a brief phone conversation on Friday, Father Sultana, believed to be aged in his 70s, said he would not return to Australia for the court case.
"I cannot talk about this with you or anyone," he said.
The case against the Catholic Church is being prepared by Dean and Bolton Solicitors, with medical reports being collated before both parties enter into a compulsory conciliation process.
If the matter is not settled during that process, the case will go to trial.
Cairns Bishop James Foley, who offered the victim religious counselling when informed of the abuse in November 2009, told The Cairns Post he had been in email contact with the current Bishop of Gozo, where Father Sultana is still serving as a priest.
"The current Bishop of Gozo (Malta) and I have exchanged emails on this matter, initiated by him after this was reported in the media in Malta," Bishop Foley said.
"Now I have no authority or jurisdiction over Joseph Sultana.
"The alleged victim and his solicitors have been urged by myself and our lawyers that this matter should be in police hands, as they are the only ones with the means and the authority to investigate.
"If I make any contact with Joseph Sultana at this stage, that could interfere with any current or future police investigation.
"Hence, I am unable to say or do more at this time."
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